World Wrestling Entertainment will be combined with the mixed martial arts franchise UFCproperty of Endeavor Groupto form a new publicly traded entertainment giant valued at about $21 billionthe companies announced Monday.
The agreement unites two of the biggest names in wrestling and entertainment and puts an end to a sale process of the WWE that has lasted for months, supervised by its co-founder and CEO Vince McMahonwho returned to the company’s board in January.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to bring together two leading companies in the sports and entertainment industry”said the CEO of Endeavor, ari emmanuelin a presentation to investors, in which he described the transaction as a “transformative step” for Endeavor.
Emanuel said he would take advantage of the experience of Endeavor in securing media deals, sponsorships and new forms of distribution to fuel the growth of the new company, which he will lead as CEO while continuing in his role at Endeavor.
McMahon will retain its role in the new company, which will be majority owned by Endeavor with a 51% stake, while the investors of the WWE They will own the rest.
Emanuelthe most powerful agent of hollywoodhas transformed Endeavor, which has its roots in representing film and television talent, in a sports and entertainment powerhouse with more than 20 acquisitions. He has invested in bullfighting events, fashion shows and tennis competitions miami open and Madrid Open.
Endeavor said it would apply the same strategy it used with the UFCthe world’s largest martial arts organization, improving operational efficiencies, negotiating lucrative media deals and closing licensing deals.
The UFC has seen its income grow by more than one and a half times and its EBTIDA adjusted to double from 2017, a year after Endeavor took a majority stake in the company. Endeavor bought the remaining shares in 2021.
Under the agreement which, according to one source, is known internally as Project Stunner, UFC and WWE They will also contribute cash to the new company so that it has about 150 million dollars.
The agreement values each share of WWE in 106 dollarswhich represents a 16% premium to the company’s Friday close and gives WWE a market value of $9.3 billion.
The actions of WWE fell 6% in the first operations, while those of Endeavor they were up 0.3%. One analyst said investors in WWE they might have been disappointed that it was not a cash transaction.
The new company will trade under the symbol “TKO” in the Bag of NYthe companies reported.
Source: Ambito
I am Pierce Boyd, a driven and ambitious professional working in the news industry. I have been writing for 24 Hours Worlds for over five years, specializing in sports section coverage. During my tenure at the publication, I have built an impressive portfolio of articles that has earned me a reputation as an experienced journalist and content creator.
